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Game Changer

About The Book

What if school was sports, and sports were school? A talented teen athlete questions reality—and the role she plays in it—when a mysterious injury upends her world.

Athletics are everything for eighth-grader KT Sutton. She’s a softball star, and she’s on track to get a college scholarship and achieve international fame. Then one day during a championship game—in the middle of an important play—she suddenly blacks out.

When she wakes up, she’s in a different world. One where school is class after class of athletic drills, and after-school sports are replaced by popular academic competitions. One where KT is despised for her talent, and where her parents are fixated on her brother’s future mathletics career rather than KT’s softball hopes.

KT is desperate to get back to reality as she knew it, but bits and pieces of disturbing memories and dreams make her wonder if something truly awful happened there. What if she’s lost something a lot more important than a softball game?

From New York Times bestselling author of Sent and Sabotaged, an engaging and highly relevant exploration of society’s debate of smarts versus sports.

About The Author

The Backstage Studio

Margaret Peterson Haddix is the author of many critically and popularly acclaimed YA and middle grade novels, including the Children of Exile series, The Missing series, the Under Their Skin series, and the Shadow Children series. A graduate of Miami University (of Ohio), she worked for several years as a reporter for The Indianapolis News. She also taught at the Danville (Illinois) Area Community College. She lives with her family in Columbus, Ohio. Visit her at HaddixBooks.com.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (November 12, 2013)
  • Length: 272 pages
  • ISBN13: 9780689873812
  • Grades: 7 and up
  • Ages: 12 - 99
  • Lexile ® 740L The Lexile reading levels have been certified by the Lexile developer, MetaMetrics®

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Raves and Reviews

"Haddix illuminates the pressure middle school-aged students often feel to confrom to predetermined roles. Her cleverly constructed tale gives a voice to all students, encouraging them to look beyond the labels of sporty, smart and so on, to define themselves. KT's transition from athlete to advocate is calculated to inspire readers to celebrate their individuality. Haddix's insightful tale is a compelling blend of sports, action and mystery."

– Kirkus Reviews

"This fast-paced novel will fit well on back-to-school displays."

– Booklist

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